designing and making it happen

Ladder Christmas Tree

We made our picture perfect tree out
of an old ladder with near-on zero prep, using a coat of chalk paint to cover ancient paint drips and to create a matte finish.

You will need-

Planed timber

Saw

Spirit level

Pencil

Drill

Screws

Crown Cloudburst matt emulsion paint, £11.99 for 2.5l, Maxwells DIY

Polyvine Chalk Paint Maker, £11.36, Amazon

Paintbrush

1. Put up the ladder and decide how steep you want the sides of the tree to be; you might have to remove the retaining cord. Ours is quite broad as we wanted to max out on the display area.

2. To make the back leg shelf supports, cut batten from 2.5cm x 5cm planed timber.With the spirit level balanced on the front step, extend the level line and mark where to locate the support batten on the back legs with pencil. Screw the battens in place.

3. Our shelves projected 25cm beyond the edge of the step to give extra display space, but you could make yours shorter if you’d like. Decide on the length, then cut each shelf from planed wood. Screw in place on the front steps and back batten.
4. To make the chalk paint, mix 400ml Crown Cloudburst Matt Emulsion with 200ml Polyvine Chalk Paint Maker. Then, with a crosshatch strokes, paint the ladder Christmas tree and let dry before decorating.